Klein set

[ChrisK]

1 hour ago, Surfer (aka Nalu) said:

At my local IBEW 1186 everyone has Klein. I imagine it must be that way for most unions. In fact, the tool list they give you has all Klein tools. I'm still proud to own my Klein tools and I will be picking up more eventually. I want to pick up the journeyman series of pliers and keep all different colored handles for easy identification. I think I'll be keeping my Kleins on the belt and Knipex in the veto bag. 

I have the Journeyman linesman pliers and they are phenomenal as well as the high viz diagonals and a multi driver. They are fantastic tools.

[Conductor562]

To be clear, I'm not Klein bashing. I like Klein and have some of their tools in my own box. They're good quality tools with the vast majority of them still being made here and in today's market, that's worthy of my respect. 

 

I think what it boils down to is Klein needed to expand their offerings and jump harder into the Data/Com market to compete with larger companies like Ideal and doing so, for various reasons, wasn't feasible with 100% American manufacturing. Maybe they were testing the waters to gauge consumer interest, maybe they weren't, and unless anyone here set in on their board meetings, we probably never will. 

 

It's sad that companies are forced into situations like this where offshore production is the only option, but for some types of products, it's just the reality of the times we live in. 

 

They all all do it. Snap-On, Mac, hell, I think the only thing Matco actually makes on their own anymore is their toolboxes. Some of them market the bulk of their offshore products under different labels to protect their brand identity, but they all do it in some way. Even Wright now makes their Cougar budget line overseas, but they now call it Cougar Pro. 

 

The he bottom line is that most people are willing to accept a little lesser quality to save money. Consumer complacency and a drastic increase in import quality has created a market where American manufacturers have no choice but to drive down costs in order to survive. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. It is what it is I suppose.

 

 

[Surfer (aka Nalu)]

17 hours ago, Conductor562 said:

To be clear, I'm not Klein bashing. I like Klein and have some of their tools in my own box. They're good quality tools with the vast majority of them still being made here and in today's market, that's worthy of my respect. 

 

I think what it boils down to is Klein needed to expand their offerings and jump harder into the Data/Com market to compete with larger companies like Ideal and doing so, for various reasons, wasn't feasible with 100% American manufacturing. Maybe they were testing the waters to gauge consumer interest, maybe they weren't, and unless anyone here set in on their board meetings, we probably never will. 

 

It's sad that companies are forced into situations like this where offshore production is the only option, but for some types of products, it's just the reality of the times we live in. 

 

They all all do it. Snap-On, Mac, hell, I think the only thing Matco actually makes on their own anymore is their toolboxes. Some of them market the bulk of their offshore products under different labels to protect their brand identity, but they all do it in some way. Even Wright now makes their Cougar budget line overseas, but they now call it Cougar Pro. 

 

The he bottom line is that most people are willing to accept a little lesser quality to save money. Consumer complacency and a drastic increase in import quality has created a market where American manufacturers have no choice but to drive down costs in order to survive. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. It is what it is I suppose.

 

 

 

Very well stated, as is with most of your posts.

[KnarlyCarl]

On 11/28/2016 at 7:32 PM, Surfer (aka Nalu) said:

As for the original post, I think that's a great price for those tools. If I seen that kit here locally I would definitely jump on it.

 

It sucks though that Klein has shifted overseas. I used to think in my head "Klein, made in the USA". Now I think "Klein, made in the USA, but some stuff is from Taiwan or China, as least all the screwdrivers are made in the USA, except for maybe the multidrivers or the little itty bitty ones, but for sure, we still make the pliers in the USA"

 

Knipex, Wiha, Wera and Gedore tools have been getting my attention lately. I really prefer the fit and finish of my Knipex pliers but I like the colored handles of Klein. Anyway, I still think they all make great tools, yes, even the ones made in Taiwan.

 

I've received a decent education from you guys here on Taiwan tools and they are a decent quality metal going into the tools. The opposite was said about Chinese metal, though...

 

On 11/28/2016 at 7:49 PM, Surfer (aka Nalu) said:

At my local IBEW 1186 everyone has Klein. I imagine it must be that way for most unions. In fact, the tool list they give you has all Klein tools. I'm still proud to own my Klein tools and I will be picking up more eventually. I want to pick up the journeyman series of pliers and keep all different colored handles for easy identification. I think I'll be keeping my Kleins on the belt and Knipex in the veto bag. 

 

I love the Journeyman series, I have the stripper/crimper/cutter and its the first I grab when doing general electrical.

Been looking at their other offerings. Feel great in the hand, too

[Surfer (aka Nalu)]

 

I love the Journeyman series, I have the stripper/crimper/cutter and its the first I grab when doing general electrical.

Been looking at their other offerings. Feel great in the hand, too

Dude, I got these free from HD. I guess the cashier missed these when it was piled in some other strippers I bought. I looked at the receipt and sure enough, it was not included.

Love these things, I don't have the crimper one, mine had a spring that I took out

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[comp56]

Just now, Surfer (aka Nalu) said:

 

Dude, I got these free from HD. I guess the cashier missed these when it was piled in some other strippers I bought. I looked at the receipt and sure enough, it was not included.

Love these things, I don't have the crimper one, mine had a spring that I took out

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that is sweet now march your arse back there and pay for them...the last thing I need is for HD to go out of business, what the hell would I do where would I go?......lol

[Conductor562]

30 minutes ago, comp56 said:

that is sweet now march your arse back there and pay for them...the last thing I need is for HD to go out of business, what the hell would I do where would I go?......lol

 

You could go to Lowe's if you like shitty tools.

 

Although I will admit I need to study up on Southwire. My assumption was that Lowe's was simply licensing the Southwire name for a line of shit tools, but I may have to find out the truth after Eric's post.  

[JimboS1ice]

 

You could go to Lowe's if you like shitty tools.

 

Although I will admit I need to study up on Southwire. My assumption was that Lowe's was simply licensing the Southwire name for a line of shit tools, but I may have to find out the truth after Eric's post.  

Not a fan of southwire, most tools are Chinese, some stuff is making there way over here but mainly rip off of Klein


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[Conductor562]

40 minutes ago, JimboS1ice said:

Not a fan of southwire, most tools are Chinese, some stuff is making there way over here but mainly rip off of Klein


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That was my take on them as well. They replaced all the Klein stuff with Greenlee, then phased out Greenlee in favor of Southwire. I haven't even looked at Southwire for a couple years, but when they came out I wasn't impressed. 

 

I had had it in for Lowe's anyway after they reduced the Kobalt line to shit and phased out Milwaukee and Channellock, so I might have been a little biased 

[JimboS1ice]

 

That was my take on them as well. They replaced all the Klein stuff with Greenlee, then phased out Greenlee in favor of Southwire. I haven't even looked at Southwire for a couple years, but when they came out I wasn't impressed. 

 

I had had it in for Lowe's anyway after they reduced the Kobalt line to shit and phased out Milwaukee and Channellock, so I might have been a little biased 

Lowes has virtually 0 us made tools, that's the thing I like about menards is they have a good chunk of us made stuff, some of southwire cutting edges have no refinement what so ever


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[Conductor562]

Man, I'm getting all teary eyed thinking about how great a value the original Kobalt stuff was ?

[JimboS1ice]

Yea it's a shame they made such a name for themselves and just shat all over it


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[KnarlyCarl]

4 hours ago, Surfer (aka Nalu) said:

 

Dude, I got these free from HD. I guess the cashier missed these when it was piled in some other strippers I bought. I looked at the receipt and sure enough, it was not included.

Love these things, I don't have the crimper one, mine had a spring that I took out

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Yup, mine is the crimper ones, got mine free from TIA during a periscope random giveaway!!!

 

1 hour ago, Conductor562 said:

 

That was my take on them as well. They replaced all the Klein stuff with Greenlee, then phased out Greenlee in favor of Southwire. I haven't even looked at Southwire for a couple years, but when they came out I wasn't impressed. 

 

I had had it in for Lowe's anyway after they reduced the Kobalt line to shit and phased out Milwaukee and Channellock, so I might have been a little biased 

 

This is why I frequent Lowes very infrequently shall I say....

Southwire hand tools are mediocre, for the price and availability, not bad, just don't expect real good quality. I myself won't buy them. I do, however like their meters, I have used one for about a year now, and more recently they sent me another one that is IP67 rated, seems pretty decent and I haven't had a problem with my current one. So I wouldn't overlook the meters, just the hand tools.

Also, @NicolasRamos did you say whether you recognized the meters from another brand..?

[Justin Hernandez]

Lowe's is for chicks..lol Nobody goes there I know there losing money its been like that since they built the place. I went there on black friday just to see how empty it was, I was like the only one there. It is still a mystery why they burned down the Home Depot by me and then knocked it down just a few months after the fire. This happened in 2013 and Lowe's still didn't gain any customers they just went to the other HD thats a few miles away. I will admit the two HD's seemed pointless being so close to each other. The HD had minor fire damage and the fire never penetrated the roof, it seems like an insurance scam. The HD was not that old maybe only like 8 years or so, but its just an empty lot now. Maybe HD was losing money having the two stores. When I saw them tearing it down I couldn't believe it such a waste of money to knockdown a newer building. That little smoke cloud is about as bad as it got, ask yourself how does this become a tear down. America needs to stop being so wasteful. Don't know why I started talking about this but it bothers me how you can just cash in on something like this. Tell me what you think

[KnarlyCarl]

Yeah, it's insane to think about that, mall south of me was a great place, The Andersons hardware store was in there and they were like a HD, loved going there, they tore that whole thing down and now it's this huge empty lot. Couldn't believe it wasn't worth keeping, I just shake my head.... 

 

[JMG]

I am sure that there is a formula somewhere in the books that someone uses to determine whether or not it will be cost effective to keep a building alive. But when you begin to consider municipal tax rates along with the costs of maintenance and security for an empty structure, not to mention liability issues and insurance, the razing of these structures is less surprising in the end.

[NicolasRamos]

 

This is why I frequent Lowes very infrequently shall I say....

Southwire hand tools are mediocre, for the price and availability, not bad, just don't expect real good quality. I myself won't buy them. I do, however like their meters, I have used one for about a year now, and more recently they sent me another one that is IP67 rated, seems pretty decent and I haven't had a problem with my current one. So I wouldn't overlook the meters, just the hand tools.

Also, @NicolasRamos did you say whether you recognized the meters from another brand..?

CEM meters/instruments


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[Justin Hernandez]

On 12/1/2016 at 0:08 AM, Justin Hernandez said:

Lowe's is for chicks..lol Nobody goes there I know there losing money its been like that since they built the place. I went there on black friday just to see how empty it was, I was like the only one there. It is still a mystery why they burned down the Home Depot by me and then knocked it down just a few months after the fire. This happened in 2013 and Lowe's still didn't gain any customers they just went to the other HD thats a few miles away. I will admit the two HD's seemed pointless being so close to each other. The HD had minor fire damage and the fire never penetrated the roof, it seems like an insurance scam. The HD was not that old maybe only like 8 years or so, but its just an empty lot now. Maybe HD was losing money having the two stores. When I saw them tearing it down I couldn't believe it such a waste of money to knockdown a newer building. That little smoke cloud is about as bad as it got, ask yourself how does this become a tear down. America needs to stop being so wasteful. Don't know why I started talking about this but it bothers me how you can just cash in on something like this. Tell me what you think

I realize now that The Home Depot was only five years old. Such a waste